Alternate trout fishing location in Upper Merion does not pan out

By
Carl Rotenberg, The Times Herald

Friday, April 11, 2014

UPPER MERION — The cancellation two weeks ago for the long-time Trout Rodeo at the decorative pond behind the Upper Merion township building put the kibosh on an opening-day fishing experience for young children.

The pond was too overgrown with vegetation and compromised by goose droppings to allow the free event to continue at the pond, said Susan DeMedio of Lower Providence when the Trout Rodeo was cancelled in late March.

The Valley Forge Optimist Club started the Trout Rodeo about 30 years ago and the Stoney Creek Anglers had donated trout for the past 15 years, said DeMedio, a member of both groups. Last year the Trout Rodeo attracted 75 to 100 children.

Township officials investigated an alternative township location for an April 19 fishing event in the interim but were unable to secure a suitable location, said Dan Russell, the director of parks and recreation for Upper Merion.

“We did have a location picked out but it had problems with parking and excess vegetation to allow for safe passage of the children,” Russell said.

Russell said the potential fishing location would not be named and called it a “body of water in a township park.”

Township officials are actively researching how to clean up the vegetation growing around the pond behind the township building to make it ready for a trout rodeo in spring 2015.

Bill Schuster, the park maintenance superintendent for the township, met on Wednesday with Abdel Nassani, a senior civil engineer at the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), at the pond, Russell said.

“The DEP wants to work with the township on dredging,” Russell said. “Not only is it feasible to do the dredging of the pond behind the township building, but they recommended that we do it for the aesthetics.”

Russell said that Horsham officials have had similar problems with vegetation in township ponds and have been able to control their growth. Upper Merion officials plan to meet with the Horsham officials in the next few weeks.

“We’re working on it,” said Russell about the Upper Merion officials efforts to return trout fishing to the township for young children.